Emergency fire apparatus for buildings.



APPLIUAT 10N FILED JUNE 4. 1904.

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Izak/aff@ No. 782,778. PATENTBD PEB. 14', 1905.

. I. W. COTTON & J. W. LARISH.

EMERGENCY FIRE'APPARATUS FOR BUILDINGS. APPLIOATI'ON FILED JUNI: 4. 1904.

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UNITED STATES llatented February 14, 1905.

PATENT OEEcE.

FREDERICK IV. COTTON, OF DEDHAM, AND JOSEPH W. LARISH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO GAS AND ELECTRIC PROTECTIVE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

EMERGENCY FIRE APPARATUS FOR BUILDINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,778, dated February 14, 1905.

Application filed June 4,1904. Serial No. 211,192.

, To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK IV. COTTON, or' Dedham, in the county of Norfolk, and JosErH IV. LARIsH, of Boston, in the county of Suiiolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Emergency Fire Apparatus for Buildings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for pro- IO tecting a building and contents or occupants in case of fire by giving an alarm and automatically instituting emergency measures, such as throwing off the main electric lighting-circuit of the building and operating an I5 emergencylighting-circuit, cutting off the gassupply of the building, &c. Devices of this character are shown in a copending application of Frederick W. Cotton, Serial No. 153,336, for cut-out and alarm apparatus operating in 2O conjunction with a sprinkler system, the water from the sprinkler-pipes or house-pipes being employed to operate a motor, such as a cylinder and piston, to actuate the emergency devices when the sprinklers operate. The present invention relates particularly to improved means for controlling a hydraulic or other motor, such as the cylinder-andpiston motor of the aforesaid application; and the objects of the present invention are, iirst, to provide improved means whereby an eX- cessive current in the electric lighting system oi' the building, such as might arise from crossed wires, will automatically operate the devices for controlling the hydraulic or other motor, which in turn controls the emergency device, alarms, Sac.; second, to provide improvements in such motor-controlling means whereby the latter may be caused to operate with greater certainty and whereby the effects 40 of water-hammer are overcome, and, third,

to furnish means whereby said motor-controlling devices may be jointly controlled through the operation of the sprinkler system and through the operation of the electric regulating means.

OT' the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a diagrammatic view with parts in section and elevation, showing emergency lire apparatus embodying our invention, the parts being shown in the position which they have during normal conditions. Fig. 2 represents a similar view with the parts in the position which they assume when said parts become operative for performing their designed functions.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in both figures.

In the drawings, 10 11 represent pipes adapted for connection with the street water-main, the pipe 10 having one or more sprinkler- 60 heads 12, designed to automatically operate when a predetermined temperature is reached and sprinkle water in the building, the pipe 11 connecting into a valve-chamber13, which communicates with the interior of a cylinder 14. The latter contains a suitable piston, whose stem by means of proper connections actuates a switch mechanism 15 for cutting out the main lighting-circuit o1Ll the building and establishing an emergency lighting-circuit to illuminate exits, elevators, &c., a building-alarm 16 and a valve 17 in the gas-main 18, which supplies the building with gas, all as described in the aforesaid application,Serial No. 158,336. Piston-rod of motor-cylinder 14 also acts 75 through lever 19 and sliding rod 2O upon a trip-lever 21, which releases a clock-train 22 for propelling acircuit-controller 23, the latter controlling the circuit of an alarm 2li, which may be at lire headquarters. The par- SO ticular construction oi' these various devices controlled by motor-cylinder 14 is not a part of the present invention.

The communication between pipe 11 and valve-casing 13 is controlled by a suitable seat- 85 ing-valve 25, attached to a stem 26, on whose lower end is fixed a piston 27, operating in a cylinder 28. One head oi'r said cylinder is formed -by a Iiexible diaphragm 29, between which and the piston is a body of non-freezable liquid 30, such as oil, glycerin, or the like. Below the cylinder 28 is a chamber 31, communicating through passage or conduit 32 with the casing 33 of a rotary plug-valve 34. Said casing also communicates through o 5 pipe 350, containing stop-valve 360, with the sprinkler-pipe 10. A weight 35, attached to the valve, has a tendency to rotate the valve clockwise, which is normally resisted by a lug 36 on the valve-trunnion engaged by trip-lever 37. Said lever is adapted to be tripped by the descent of piston-rod 26 through the trip-rod 38, connected with said piston-rod.

The arrangement of parts thus far described is normally as represented in Fig. 1, with the valve 34 establishing communication between pipe 350 and chamber 31, and so held by triplevel' 37 and the valve 25 closed against its seat by the superior upward pressure due to the greater area of piston 27. Should any of the sprinklers 12 open, this will cause a decrease in pressure in the pipe 10 and in chamber 31 which will cause the valve-stem 26 to drop slightly. This trips the lever 37 and allows the weight 35 to rotate valve 34 and connect chamber 31 with waste-pipe 41. The chamber 31 is accordingly emptied, and the pressure above valve 25 fully opens the latter and establishes communication between pipe 11 and motor-cylinder 14. The piston in said cylinder is therefore pushed out, as represented in Fig. 2, with the result of operating the various alarms and other emergency devices hereinbefore described. Arrangement is further made for tripping the lever 3 7 through an abnormal increase in current in the lighting-circuit or other circuit of' the building'.

42 is a circuit representing the lighting or other circuit of the building' and containing translating devices, such as lamps 43, and also a sectional rheostatic resistance 44, controlled by a traveler 45 on an arm 46, whose upward movement increases the resistance in said circuit. Arm 46 is connected to the armature 47 of a bipolar electromagnet 48, whose cores have a winding 49 in sei'ies with the circuit 42, the generator 50 for supplying said circuit, and the rheostat-brush 45 and winding 51 in shunt connection with the generator 50 and the main circuit 42. This device is described and claimed in a copending application of Joseph W. Larish, Serial No. 211,115. Its operation is such that should there be an abnormal increase of current in the circuit 424as, for instance, when said circuit is crossed by a more powerful circuit or shortcircuited-the magnetic field due to the winding 49 will be increased and arm 46 will insert increased resistance in the main circuit, thereby tending' to keep the current in said circuit uniform. The increase of resistance shunts some of the current from the shuntwinding 51 and tends to impart a steadygency devices and alarms are thereby operated, as hereinbefore described.

It will be observed that the valve-rod 26 is subjected to opposing pressures on valve 25 and piston 27. The effect of water-hammer in the pipes 10 11 is thereby overcome, for theinomentary impulses of the water-hammer are imposed in opposite directions upon the valve-stein 26,and therefore are unable to open valve 25 and edect an undesired operation of the emergency and alarm devices.

We claim- 41. In fire-protective apparatus the combination of a sprinkler system, a motor for operating an emergency device, an electric circuit, and mechanism controlled both by the pressure in the sprinkler system and by the strength of current in said circuit for controlling' said motor.

2. In fire-protective apparatus, the combination of a sprinkler system, a motor actuated by the fluid supplied to said system for operating an emergency device, a motor-valve controlling said motor, means actuated bya pressure variation in the sprinkler system for partially operating' said motor-valve, and mechanism actuated by such partial operation of the valve for effecting a further operation thereof.

3. In lire-protective apparatus, the combination of a sprinkler system, a motor actuated by the fluid supplied to said system for operating an emergency device, a motor-valve controlling said motor, a fluid-chamber controlling' said motor-valve and connected with said system, a valve for exhausting saidchamber, and a trip device actuated by said motor-valve for controlling said chamber exhausting valve. Y

4. VIn fire-protective apparatus, the combination of a sprinkler system, a motor for operating' an emergency device, a motor-valve controlling said motor, a Huid-chamber controlling' said motor-valve and connected with the system, a chamber-exhausting valve, an electric circuit, and a trip device controlling' said cham ber-exhausting valve and controlled both by the motor-valve and by the strength of current in said circuit.

5. ln fire-protective apparatus, the combination of a sprinkler system, a motor actuated by the Iiuid supplied to said system, an electric circuit, and means controlled automatically by the strength `of current in said circuit for varying the resistance of' said circuit, said means having provisions for producing the operation of said motor.

6. In fire-protective apparatus, the combination of a sprinkler system, a motor actuated by the fluid supplied to said system, a fluidchamber connected with said system for controlling said motor, a chamber-exhausting valve, a trip device controlling said valve, an

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electric circuit, and means controlled automatically by the strength of current in said circuit for varying the resistance of the cirpressure in the sprinkler system and by the cult, said means having provisions for actuatstrength of current 1n said circuit.

ing said trip device. In testimony Whereotl We have aiiixed our 7. In iire-protecltive apparatus, the combisignatures in presence of two witnesses.

5 nation of a sprink er system, a motor for opy 1 n erating an emergency device, connections for 1%? BX'RQTON actuating said motor by the fluid supplied to k said system or by independent fiuid, a motor- Witnesses: controlling valve, an electric circuit, and de- R. BULLOCK,

'O vices for controlling said valve both by the A. C. RATIGAN. 

